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Yesterday I sent out an article about the illegal dumping of Sheimos in
Lakewood, NJ. (See
<a href="http://www.app.com/article/201004121815/OPINION01/4120322" eudora="autourl">
http://www.app.com/article/201004121815/OPINION01/4120322</a>) I
wrote, "<font size=3>Is this not a huge Chillul
HaShem?"<br><br>
Someone responded saying that just because someone does something that is
illegal, does not make it a Chillul Hashem. This has raised the issue in
my mind about what constitutes Chillul HaShem.<br><br>
From Rav Shimon Schwab's article Chillul Hashem at
<a href="http://www.stevens.edu/golem/llevine/rsrh/chillul_hashem_r_schwab.pdf" eudora="autourl">
http://www.stevens.edu/golem/llevine/rsrh/chillul_hashem_r_schwab.pdf</a>
there is no question in my mind that if a Jew does certain things that
are illegal, and it becomes public knowledge, then this is considered
Chillul Hashem. Furthermore, RSRH writes in his commentary on Vayikra
19<br><br>
</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=4><b>12
</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3><i>And you shall not swear
falsely by My Name, for you would profane the Name of your God; I am
</i></font><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3>God.<br><br>
</b></font><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3>Scripture says to Israel
as it dwells among<br>
the nations: <i>v'chilalta es sham Elokecha</i>. You are God’s messenger
among the<br>
peoples, and God’s Name is associated with you. As His people, you<br>
are obligated to be a model for the nations and present before them
a<br>
society that is based on justice, truth, and faithfulness. If you
stain<br>
yourself with practices that are related to theft and falsehood, then
you<br>
desecrate God’s Name which is associated with you; you undermine the<br>
recognition of God, which you should herald and nurture through
deeds.<br><br>
</font>But how far does this go? If a someone whom others recognize as an
observant Jew by his or her dress jaywalks, is this Chillul Hashem?
What if he or she is seen in public looking unkempt and dirty? What if he
or she double parks or is rude? And on and on. <br><br>
What indeed constitutes Chillul Hashem? Given that Rav Schwab
wrote<br><br>
"<font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=3>Every form of Chillul
Hashem lowers the awareness of<br>
the Divine Presence in the world. But if the desecrator<br>
happens to be a professed Torah observer or, even worse, a<br>
so-called scholar of the Torah, then the Chillul Hashem not<br>
only weakens the respect for Torah on one hand, but<br>
strengthens on the other hand the defiance of the non-observer<br>
and adds fuel to the scoffers, fanning the fires of<br>
religious insurrection all around. Chillul Hashem is<br>
responsible, directly or indirectly, for the increase of frivolity,<br>
heresy and licentiousness in the world. Therefore, we should<br>
not be surprised reading the harsh words of condemnation<br>
we find in the Talmud: "He who has committed Chillul<br>
Hashem, even Teshuvoh, Yom Kippur and suffering cannot<br>
fully atone for his sin until the day of his death (Yoma
86)."<br><br>
</font>it seems to me that it is very important to know what the
parameters of Chillul Hashem are. Can anyone supply them?<br>
<br>
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Yitzchok Levine</body>
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